Rating: 
Summary: Another Classic Baseball Novel
Review: W.P. Kinsella is one of my all-time favorite writers, and this is one of his better novels. If you've seen the movie, "Field of Dreams," or read his book "Shoeless Joe," which was the basis for the movie, you know what to expect from Kinsella.
His stories of baseball and magic are written for readers with vivid imaginations. This is a story of a researcher looking for proof of an old league that nobody else can remember. He somehow ends up at a never-ending exhibition game between the 1908 Cubs and the all-stars from this Iowa league.
As usual with Kinsella, the book is about a lot more than baseball. If you're the type of reader who can accept a story that seems totally unbelievbale, and if you like baseball, you should try this one. If you like it, he's written quite a few other books and I haven't found a bad one yet.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Fantastic
Review: W.P. Kinsella's "The Iowa Baseball Confederacy" is about a lot of things: obsession, love, time travel, fantasy, and baseball. As is typical of most of Kinsella's fine stories and novels, baseball is the center piece to the story, but there's much more going on than a baseball game. And often, a lot of what's going on requires quite an imagination--maybe too much suspension of belief.That's certainly the case with this novel. The story follows the obsession of Gideon Clarke (a white-haired, blue-eyed wealthy son of a man with the same obsession) in 1978 Iowa. Gideon is convinced (and obsessed with proving) there was a baseball league in the early 1900s called the Iowa Baseball Confederacy and that this league's all stars played a mammoth game in 1908 against the Chicago Cubs (eventual World Series champions). This belief was passed to Gideon by his father (who seemed to be instilled with his obsession after being struck by lightning) and there is no record of this game (or the league for that matter) and seemingly no one alive who has any recollection of the game or the league. Gideon spends years and much effort trying to get to the bottom of this with no success. Along the way, we read about his relationship with his itinerant wife, Sunny as well as his dealings with others in the town of Onamata (formerly Big Inning). Flowers sing to him, his mother and sister abandon him (not in that order), his father is struck by a line drive, his best friend Stan shares big league dreams, and most people think Gideon is eccentric. And then, through a "crack in time", Gideon and Stan are transported to 1908 on the eve of the big game. The story really picks up from this point and becomes more fantastic (er, unrealistic) with each inning played. There is (was) in fact an Iowa Baseball Confederacy and a game is (was) played against the Chicago Cubs. And Kinsella takes the reader for a heckuva ride. The teams play for 40 days and a total of over 2,600 innings (they take breaks for meals and darkness). Along the way, Gideon meets a 15-foot tall Indian, fly balls soar over the horizon, players leave the field to jump in raging flood waters (most of the game was played in rain, rain which eventually leads to a flood), mascots bat, starting pitchers never tire, Gideon meets (and falls in love with) a farmer's daughter, Stan continues to dream of the big leagues, and many other unbelievable things take place. All the while, we learn more about Gideon and those around him (both in 1908 and 1978) and ultimately the mystery as to who finally wins the game (and how). This novel is a story of a ridiculously long baseball game, but even more, it's a novel of one man's quest and the resolution he makes regarding life (both past and present). It's well told, a quick read, and if you can accept the fantastic aspects to the baseball game and the events surrounding it, an enjoyable adventure. If you're looking for a realistic baseball tale, this is not it. On the other hand, if you've enjoyed Kinsella's other novels or short stories, you will definitely enjoy this one. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Mind-boggling
Review: What's so mind-boggling is the drugs that Kinsella must have been smoking in order to come up with this one. Now read this description of the book:
An albino, like his dead father, is convinced that a 3000 inning game took place 80-some years ago between the Chicago Cubs and the Iowa baseball Confederacy All-stars. The albino is somehow able to go back in time and witness the game (as a matter of fact the local hicks use him as a good-luck charm and rub his head before stepping to the plate, allowing him to remain in the dugout) in all its glory. Then Teddy Roosevelt shows up and takesa few swings, telling the pitcher not to patronize him after throwing an easy pitch, and then making a cheap pun about the bat being a "big stick." Soon after that Leonardo DaVinci showed up in a balloon and watches a few innings. Shortly thereafter a giant flood occurs and some of the players spontaeneouly throw themselves in the waters. To fill the vacancies, a statue of an angel plays in the outfield.
There, I think I've covered all the bases, so to speak. Oh, I forgot the Native America named "Drifting Away" who is messing with the reality of this county and eventually plays in the game too.
Look, I don't like to be so completely negative, but the book was ludicrous. To make matters worse, it throws in a fairly gratuitous love interest who is the spitting image of the Albino protagonist's mother (kinda Fruedian) and more seemingly random things than could possibly be mentioned in this review. And bear in mind, reading these things, that I'm a baseball fan.
3/10
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: WOW, that's all that can describe this book. At first I thought this book to be slow, however, once I understood it, it became one of the best books I've ever read. W.P. Kinsella is a genuis. Just read this book, and Shoeless Joe, if you get a chance.
Rating:
Summary: The magic of baseball in the midwest
Review: You don't have to be a Cubs fan to love The Iowa Baseball Confederacy...but it helps. Kinsella has hit another home run with this magical tale of time travel and baseball in the midwest. I find his writing similar to that of Jack Finney in that he pursuades his readers that the most impossible things might actually happen, especially the things you dream most about. Suspend your disbelief, imagine the past, and step into it.
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